It came to me that i had been listening to these songs a lot recently, and really, when i thought about it, thematically, perhaps even lyrically, they were the same song. I suppose though, what's the difference between any break-up song and any other break-up song? But, for the length of this post, indulge me as i compare and contrast these songs.
So, i will begin with the Sebadoh as it comes alphabetically and chronologically first. The song details a relationship that has ended, alluding to cheating as the cause of the break up. Anyways, as songs of any variety go, this one is quite theatrical, with lines like "Think of all the joy we shared/ if you decide you need me/ i'll be wondering if i care." It certainly teters on emo, and maybe i'm just partial to it's raw quality (and also a Bright Eyes fan, for whatever that's worth).
The Wrens song begins quite similarly with lyrics like "is this why you wanted me/ to watch as you walk away/ you don't even want to touch me now" the difference is, despite the indie rock guitars in the background, it comes off in a much less raw way than the Sebadoh does. These lyrics are clearly meditated, and perhaps the nasal delivery also works towards an emo-ness. The main difference between the two songs, really, is that one documents death of a relationship by cheating, the other just documents death of a relationship.
I realize the buzz words i'm using aren't at all flattering to either of these songs, which is truly unfair since they're both great. I'm mostly just examing why i feel the urge to listen to mopey songs all the time.
Download: Sebadoh - Soul and Fire
Download: The Wrens - Happy
Sebadoh - Soul and Fire & The Wrens - Happy
Plumtree - Scott Pilgrim
Some people want complexity in their music. They're not satisfied if a song doesn't have thirty chords, forty-five different time signatures, and indecipherable lyrics.
I don't know anyone like this, but I'm aware that such people exist. Needless to say, I am not one of them. There's obviously nothing wrong with complexity - and a lot that can be amazing about it - but the sort of complexity I'm referring to is, quite simply, boring.
Which brings me to "Scott Pilgrim": the simplest song you've heard in months. There are four lines in these three minutes one second. And the word "yeah" - I'm not sure if it makes a fifth line or not. You won't care. You'll bob your head and maybe tap your foot and if you're really cool you'll probably be unable to keep yourself from dancing. This is the sort of song that the phrase "power pop" was invented for. The guitars crunch, the backing vocals don't let up, and everything clicks into an undeniable slice of joy.
This song is not complex; it is perfect. And it's in the archives at the radio station, a fact which brings me no small amount of happiness. Plumtree are gone now, broken up in 2000. But, as you may know, this song lives on as the inspiration for Brian Lee O'Malley's incredible Scott Pilgrim series. So don't - please don't - keep yourself from dancing.
Download: Plumtree - Scott Pilgrim
Break-long Hiatus
Since my esteemed colleague has no/very-limited internet access this week, we're going on a short hiatus. Regular updates resume Monday, November 27th.
Upcoming:
Plumtree
Dennis Wilson
The Avalanches
Lou Christie
Margot & the Nuclear So-and-So's
Ash
Pulsars
Jerry Lee Louis
Devin Davis
And that's just what I have planned. You're not going to want to miss this.
Jack White - What Goes Around
So Jack White recorded a song for a Coke commercial. Is that selling out? Who cares, if the result is a song as catchy and infectious as this one. It's as short and unpretentious as you might expect, and I'm not going to deny that it's ridiculously simple. But sometimes that's absolutely fine - and when the horns burst in, announcing the chorus, I dare you not to smile.
One of the coolest things about the song, I think, is the novelty of hearing White doing something unabashedly poppy while backed by something besides the Stripes' trademark stripped-down instrumentation. Sure, The Raconteurs brought more to the equation, but lost the playfulness shown in the Stripes' catchier compositions. And "What Goes Around" uses oboe - in a way that works, even if you're like me and think oboe has no place in rock 'n' roll outside prog.
We've had some rainy, dull days here recently, it's true. If you're in the mood for reflecting the weather, listen to the Cohen song. If you want to pretend it's summer, put on "What Goes Around." Or alternate, for a whiplash-inducing effect.
Download: Jack White - What Goes Around
Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat
Today the weather is absolutely dismal and I got a bad grade on a paper yesterday, so it's no wonder that in my several post series on love songs, I have decided to begin with Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat." Appropriately, this is the first Leonard Cohen song I ever heard, and probably still one of his best, in my opinion.
It's a narrative, and one that is packed with bitterness and bittersweetness, that never transcened into actual sweetness. It tells the story of a man whose wife is seduced by his brother, but the song lies in the aftermath. Jane, the wife, is entirely absent from the song until the near end when she mysteriously wakes and sends her regards. Although, ostensibly, we should feel the worst for the narrator of the song, once Cohen sings that line, it's pretty clear that this song is simply filled with broken, messed up people. Each takes their turn as victim and each takes their turn as villain.
The emotional climax of the song, however, lies with the narrator. When Cohen sings, "What can I tell you/ My brother, my killer/ What can I possibly say?/ I guess that I miss you/ I guess i forgive you/ I'm glad you stood in my way" couple with "And thanks/ For the trouble you took from her eyes/ I thought it was there for good/ So i never tried" the listener is confronted with the full despair and resignation that Cohen feels.
I wouldn't be honest with myself if i didn't admit that the reason why i love this song so much is that it's just a plotless epiphany set to music (and minimal music at that). I only wish i'd written it first.
As for why it's making my dubious list of love songs, well, it's hard to say. I wouldn't like to be any of these characters, and all their love is completely dead at this point. It's also hopeless, everytime I root for Jane and the brother, and everytime they lose. But if you imagine the time that Cohen has tried so hard to forget, you get a clear picture of a love that has made every effort to transcend its limitations. That it didn't succeed in any way feels irrelevent.
Download: Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat
Fred Thomas - Holland Tunnel
Greetings from Michigan, the Great Lakes State! Fred Thomas, the guy behind Saturday Looks Good to Me (one of my favorite current bands), released a solo album this fall. It's his first wide-distribution record, though he's one of the most insanely prolific artists I can think of and has a bunch of limited-release LPs and 7" in his back catalog.
They've all been good, but nowhere near as great as Sink Like a Symphony is. It's a departure from the Motown-ish production of SLGTM, and a dive into the elliptical, wordy, deeply emotional territory that band's only begun to explore with songs like "Dialtone" or "When the Party Ends." Think of Neutral Milk Hotel without the WWII/semen fixation, or Bright Eyes but catchier and less whiny. This is an album invested in place, in the state and cities (Ann Arbor/Detroit) Thomas lives in, and in the experiences of those places.
So naturally I've decided to focus on a song about the Holland Tunnel. It's got everything I like about Thomas - surreal imagery, bits of narratives, clever rhymes and an almost aphoristic lyricism. The song jumps around, starting with Fred asleep in the backseat of a car driving through the tunnel realizing "things seem more important when you're underwater." Later, he remembers sleeping with a girl who took Polaroids of every guy she had, a girl who spread her entire collection out for him to see - and it kinda freaks him out. But they stand on the balcony of her apartment holding hands, up forty stories where "your cares and your worries fall down to the street" and suddenly Fred's pulled you from back humor to seriousness in a line. He's like that, at his best - and that's what this song and this album are (it's one of the best of the year from anybody, actually). He'll be coming back through here in the spring, I hope, and I can't wait to see him again.
Download: Fred Thomas - Holland Tunnel
All Saints - Never Ever
It was recently brought to my attention by Stylus Magazine that All Saints had reunited and released a new single. A couple of the reviewers felt that the new single was on par with one of their other hits, "Never Ever;" it's not. So instead of submitting "Rock Steady" as my first post to this blog, i'm submitting "Never Ever" which is a pretty sweet moment in the recent history of popular, british, girl groups. It was released in the late nineties and I have no idea what position it reached on the charts, so we'll just assume number one. Now on to the salient details. I'm not quite sure what makes this song so great to me, although certainly musically worthwhile aspects like vocal talent and slick production are factors. More so, I think it's the nostalgia. The nostalgia mixed with the indie community's newfound acceptance of pop music.
The song is simply infectous, as was proved when I played it for my sister and despite not having heard it any time recently, she could still sing along to all the words. It was still stuck in her head.
The song does have its shortcomings, and one could certainly make the case that the lyrics are somewhat insipid, even for a mainstream act, although I think they're really no worse than anything else, and certainly serve a point in anchoring the chant-like parts of the song.
Perhaps I could have gone with a more inspired song for my first entry, but I like this song.
Download: All Saints - Never Ever
